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Ron Ewart
Is the Only Absolute, Absolute Power?
October 19, 2010

"Those in possession of absolute power can not only prophesy and make their prophecies come true, but they can also lie and make their lies come true.” -- Eric Hoffer, philosopher

Einstein told us, in great mathematical detail, that in the Universe everything is relative, that is except the speed of light, which is absolute. Even Newton's law of gravity is only accurate within certain limits, below the speed of light. So if everything in the Universe is relative, except the speed of light, then would not in the case of human behavior, it too is relative? What then of up and down, right and left, hot and cold, right and wrong, good and evil, or conservative and liberal? Aren't they then relative as well? And who decides which is right and which is wrong? Is the only absolute within the confines of the human condition, absolute power?

If we cannot hang our hats on a "right" or a "wrong" when it comes to the affairs of man, what's the point? If there is no foundation or principle upon which we can stand firm and believe with our heart and soul that our home is not perched precariously on a mound of shifting sand, what then do our thoughts and opinions mean if everything is relative? Relative to what?

Our Founding Fathers were convinced that they had found absolutes when it came to the freedom and liberty of man. They searched history for answers and went to great lengths to not only codify their thoughts and beliefs into law via our constitution, they were absolutely convinced that the rights of man were unalienable, unalterable, inflexible and unchangeable, as absolutely natural rights, a gift from our creator. If these natural rights are not unalienable, if we have no right to life, liberty, property and the pursuit of "our" happiness, then whatever rights we have are granted by man. Whatever rights granted by man can be removed and taken away by man, when a few men declare absolute power.

So what of the questions regarding liberal and conservatives. Is one more right and one more wrong than the other? Does the position of one or the other position, square with the foundation of liberty?

Let us take the position of liberal that is currently based on what we can only conclude is irrational compassion, economic equality and social justice. In order to implement their position, a strong central government is absolutely necessary, a strong central government with almost absolute power to regulate and tax. With a government this powerful, what is to stop this strong central government from obtaining absolute power? Absolutely nothing, except maybe a 100 or so million Americans deciding they aren't going to stand for absolute power.

Individual freedom and liberty are crushed by a strong central government, in favor of the collective. A strong central government can pick winners and losers. A strong central government can nationalize businesses and assume power over the economic engine of an entire country. A strong central government can spend the public treasury any way it chooses by simply passing a law or issuing an executive order, or by a sympathetic court writing a court decree in support of central government policy. Or worse, by an un-elected bureaucrat passing a "rule".

In the case of the conservative, their position is based on small government, low taxes and less regulation. This position allows two (2) very specific results that are in total compliance with the intent of the Framers of our constitution. First, it creates an environment in which the individual spirit is allowed to flourish and grow, as individuals, under freedom, pursue their vision of happiness. From this spirit comes new ideas, new money, new production, new jobs and greater tax revenue for government. But it does one more thing that is more important than all the production ever created by industrious Americans. It engenders individual strength, individual self-reliance and individual responsibility. As a result the country grows in strength and wealth and a strong country is less likely to be a target for those other countries who may have empirical ambitions.

We are now a weak country because so many segments of our society have succumbed to the siren call of a government "free lunch", that is never free. This siren call is championed by those who believe in irrational compassion, economic equality and social justice...at any cost, including the cost of our liberty!

The fabric of our society is coming apart at the seams because we have allowed the nanny state (a strong central government) to take the place of life's adversity. Adversity is the cruel gruel that molds our strength and our character. We learn from our mistakes and we grow stronger because of them. If there is no responsibility or consequences for our mistakes and government forgives them for us, we abdicate our natural right of freedom and free choice to those who seek absolute power over us. We might just as well close the lock and throw the key away.

So many of us have descended into mediocrity in place of personal pride in our work. We have allowed the worst within us to prevail over that which is the best within us, all in the name of security and stability, or a free handout from a devious government, hell bent on achieving absolute power. Our rewards far exceed the extent of our labors and we know it. We look in the mirror and know we have taken the easy path to slavery but do nothing to change that path or break our chains. The effort is too great and the risks to our security and stability are way too high. Instead, we cower in the shadows. While we look in the mirror and rationalize our cowardice, we forget that millions of Americans gave their lives to defend our freedom so that we could make the choice of coward, rather than hero.

All actions have consequences and we are paying for allowing a political position with a false premise and one that is in direct opposition to the foundation of freedom, to assume dominion over us. In the relative differences between liberal and conservative, it would appear that one position builds a strong country of strong individuals and the other position builds a weak country with weak individuals who will, in the end, find themselves under the barrel of a gun, either from their own government, or a foreign government that exploits the opportunity to conquer a country that has become too weak and decadent to resist.

There ARE absolutes if freedom is to be preserved and the absolute is that our individual rights are natural rights, but those natural rights have absolutely no meaning whatsoever, if we refuse to defend them from a government that is intent on taking them away. In that case the axiom is true. The only absolute, IS absolute power, where a government is powerful enough that it "can lie and prophesy and make its lies and its prophecies come true."


About Ron Ewart
Ron Ewart, President, National Association of Rural Landowners, an organization dedicated to re-establish, preserve, protect and defend property rights. He maintains a website here.